YOUNG GARDENERS' PAGE

A grand set of 40 Scarecrows took centre stage at the Radlett Fair on Sunday 7th June. Well done all who entered. See below for a report with photographs and the competition winners.

The closing date for the Youth Jubilee (Aylett Trophy) competition was extended to include the Fair in the afternoon and the next Sunday morning at the Society Store in Scrubbitts Park Road. By the end 40 children had entered and all the sets of plants taken.  Now keep your plants growing and enter them at the Show on 5 September.  See below for a summary of the competition, rules and Growing Advice.

Even if you have not entered the Aylett Trophy you can enter the other childen's classes in the Autumn Show. A summary of the children's classes is given below with the relevant extract from the Show Schedule and an Entry Form.

Scarecrow Competition at the Radlett Fair - 7 June
Congratulations to all those who took part in the magnificent display of Scarecrows in the centre of the festival show ground. You put a lot of imagination and work into them and gave a lot of pleasure to both children and adults. Thank goodness the wet start turned into a warm sunny afternoon. Below is a general view of the 40 scarecrows displayed, together with pictures of Savannah Endean with her winning entry, Anna Shadwell with her runner-up, and the another runner-up by the Junior School Gardening Club at Bhaktivedanta Manor. These, with the third runner-up Georgia Ben & Matthew Brown' scarecrow (sorry no picture) were chosen as the best in the Junior age group, although there were many others which could have been selected. The Senior age group was won jointly by two groups: 2nd Radlett Guides and 1st Radlett Scouts with the 1st Radlett Guides as runners-up.

I hope you all had a lot of fun making your scarecrows and I expect you would like also to thank your parents and leaders for all the support they gave you.

Click on picture for larger version

There were a lot of fine Scarecrows at the Fair

The Junior age-group  Winner between two of the Runners-up

Helpful Tip: Scarecrows are quite heavy and need a good strong pole to hold them up and display them at their best - a thick cane or wooden pole is best; cardboard tubes are difficult to push into the straw or ground and easily fold over especially when damp. Remember it might be windy or even rain.

Summary of  Youth Jubilee Competition (Aylett Trophy and Aylett Plaque) 2009
The Competition, sponsored jointly by the Society and Aylett Nurseries, is open to all young persons up to the age of 16 at the Society’s Autumn Show on 5 September. It is divided into two age groups of age 10 or under and 11 to 16years inclusive. The main prizes are the Aylett Trophy for the overall winner in the upper age group and the Aylett Plaque for the lower age group. There are also prizes of £5, £3 and £1 for winners of the two individual categories in each age group.The two categories in each age group for 2009 are:

1. Dahlias, a cut bunch of flowers in a vase
2. A Geranium in a pot.

Entry is free and 2 young Dahlia plants and 2 young Geranium plants will be provided to each entrant at our Store in late May /early June. The Closing date for entries will be 7 June.  The bunch of cut Dahlias will be judged on the quality of the display. Both the Dahlias and the Geranium will be judged on the health and quality of the display. Judging will be at the Autumn Show on Saturday 5th September.

The two Dahlia plants will need to be transplanted from the small pots you get them in to a plot in the garden or a container (large pot or bucket of your choice) to grow. The vase for the bunch of cut Dahlias can include any household container filled with water or damp sand. The Geraniums can be potted into larger pots and the better of the two presented at the Show.

To take part entry forms must be submitted by the closing date of 7 June. You may take advice but must do all the work of growing and presentation yourself, using the plants supplied by Ayletts Nurseries.

Full Rules are included in the website and are also given in the 2009 Yearbook (Page18).   Advice on the best way to grow your plants is given in this website; details of the Show day in September and how to stage your exhibits will be included nearer the time.

Summary of Children's classes at the Autumn Show open to all whether or not they live in Radlett.
The children's classes in the Autumn Show held at Newberries School on 5 September are divided into two age-groups: 4 to 10 years old and 11 to 16 years old on the day of the Show (5 September) and are open to anyone whether or not their family is a member. Each age group has the following five classes:

• A model constructed entirely by the exhibitor from vegetables and/or fruit
• A miniature garden in a full size seed tray
• One variety of flower, fruit or vegetable (normally three specimens) grown by the exhibitor.
• Two gingerbread figures - younger age group only
  or Three fruit buns - older age group only
• A photograph, taken by the exhibitor, of a single stem, bloom or part of a flower.

Entries for these classes are free and need not be made until the Thursday before the Autumn Show (by 6pm on Thursday 3rd September). Details and Entry Form are given in the Show Supplement of the 2009 Yearbook (pages S7 & S11), the relevant section giving Rules and Entry Form are included in this website. Details of the Show day in September and how to stage your exhibits will be included nearer the time.

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